The research of this group is directed at two principal questions both related to how the retina regulates the growth of the eye as a whole to adjust the shape so that the eye is neither nearsighted nor farsighted:(1) What signals the retina that the eye is hyperopic (therefore requiring increased ocular elongation) or myopic (therefore requiring reduced ocular elongation in compensation)? This includes studies on the role of the central nervous system in compensating for imposed defocus. (2) What mediates the changes in the growth of the sclera that result in nearsightedness or farsightedness? This includes understanding what changes occur in cells of the sclera, and what humoral influences come from the choroid, retinal pigment epithelium and retina.